Nights Embrace (Others of Seattle) (2 page)

* * * *

Roxy tossed her cables into Mike’s van, slammed the banged up back door shut, and booked it back to the stage. She peeked around the black velvet curtain, but she didn’t see him. Her heart fell, and she stepped onto the stage to take a better look at the thinning crowd.

Damn. He
’s gone.

She let out a heavy breath and
dragged her feet on her way back to the guys.

Mikey met her halfway.
“You really thinking about taking a chance on Lunar Storm’s singer?” Caution was written all over his expression.

“Doesn’t matter. He’s not there.”

Mikey shook his head. “Look, I saw his drummer trying to get him out of the club before we went on. He snuck away just to watch you. They probably dragged him out the second we finished.”

“Like I said, doesn’t matter,” Roxy muttered and stepped around Mikey.

“Hey, Sis. He
is
into you. Just be careful.”

She looked away.
“He’s not here. So drop it. I’m not going to go looking for him.”

“Maybe you should,” he answered simply.

Her gaze snapped to his and there was accusation in her tone. “And maybe you should grow a set and tell Isadora what you really want.”

He growled back,
“We were never together. We fuck, we dance, but we don’t work well enough for her to love me. It’s fine.”

“Yeah, well I don’t know the guy, so drop it.”

Mikey threw his hands up. “Fine, fine. I’m just trying to help.”

Roxy’s
eyes narrowed to slits as her hands landed on her hips. “Yeah, well I’m an adult in case you haven’t noticed, and I do all right on my own.” She stormed out of the club.

There was no avoiding the trip home, and she felt like a fool. S
he climbed into the back of the van and threw herself into a seat.

I
f they weren’t down on the waterfront, with fifteen blocks of steep hill to climb in five inch heels, she would walk her ass home to avoid dealing with Jordan and his bullshit.

He was already wasted, and she had made no attempt to hide
her obvious attraction to a singer of all things. It was inevitable, Jordan was going to slide into major ass mode.

Doug climbed in beside her.
“Don’t be so hard on your brother. He worries about you. And for once, he was trying to encourage you to go for what you want.”

She dropped her head back.
“Shit, can we drop the singer? I just want to get home and sleep.”

Mikey climbed into the driver
’s seat and gave her a sympathetic look. Jordan took shotgun and turned in his seat to look at her. “You’re coming over, right?”

“No. I’m done. I’m going home,” she answered coldly.

“You never come over anymore,” he complained, and she caught the hint of sadness in his voice. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t keep him from being an asshole. She had recently grown immune to Jordan’s whining, begging and the insults that were sure to follow when she didn’t give in.

“I have no reason to, Jordan.” She turned to stare out the
window, and all she could see were Trevor’s jade eyes. Why wasn’t he there when she went back?
Did I completely misread him?

The ride
to Doug and Jordan’s took a few short minutes. She managed to ignore everyone.

Mikey pulled up, and she saw the three skanky girls sitting on the steps
outside Jordan and Doug’s old brick building.

D
efinitely time to bail
. Waiting for Mikey to unload their stuff would mean listening to Jordan begging her to stick around while girls blatantly came on to him.

Her patience had already ru
n out. Roxy quickly hopped from the van, and started for home.

She wasn
’t fast enough. Jordan was in her face, his hands wrapping around her waist, too tight. “Come on, Rox, stay the night. There’s plenty of me to go around.”

Her eyes narrowed.
“Go play with your trash, but don’t expect me to join in.”

“I’ll send them home, and you can pretend I’m your singer,” he whispered harshly.

Her hair stood on end when she slapped him hard enough to whip his head to the side. She could have sworn she saw a flash of spark a millisecond before her hand made contact.

Jordan stumbled away, pressing his h
and to his face as she turned, hurrying home, and away from the shit.

A slam echoed
, and Doug sounded pissed. “Let her go, dumbfuck. Whatever you said was the wrong damned thing.”

Roxy didn
’t bother to look back, but she corrected Doug with, “Everything he says is the wrong thing.” She quickened her pace.

Mikey caught up.
“Please, Sis, give me a minute to unload their shit. I’ll leave it on the sidewalk, then drive you home?”

“
I need to walk. Go ahead and stay. Have fun. I need to be alone.”

Mike stopped and she kept going.
“Be careful, Rox. You’re still my baby sister.”

Tears threatened to spill, but she reined them in.
“Night, Mikey.”

Roxy walked into the Jitterhouse café feeling antsy and unsettled. Barely seven in the morning, but she couldn’t sleep. She kept dreaming about Trevor, the mysterious singer from Lunar Storm. And when she wasn’t dreaming about him, she was dreaming about a giant ass dog with golden eyes. Normally, dogs scared the hell out of her, but she wanted to reach out and run her fingers through his dark gray fur.

Skylar
sat perched on her stool behind the counter. The door chimed and Skyler looked up from her book. Grinning, she hooked her scarlet hair behind her ears, and hopped to her feet. “Hey Roxy. God, you’re up early. Didn’t you just get done singing your ass off a few hours ago? By the way, you were great, as usual. Did I mention I’m jealous?” Her flow of words stopped as she took a breath and let out a giant yawn.

“Thanks. Couldn’t sleep.” Roxy shrugged. “
So load me up on caffeine.” Then she gave Skylar a concerned frown. “And why are you jealous?”

“Of course. Oh, let’s see, you barely get any sleep and still look wide awake. Hey, did you see that singer from Lunar Storm?
Oh my god, he was gorgeous… and he could sing.” Skylar eyed Roxy suspiciously.

“Yeah, I saw him. He…
they
were great.” Of course, Roxy had never bothered to actually look at the rest of the band.

“He couldn’t keep his eyes off you while you were up there. Did you notice that? Oh wait, here’s a better question
: Did you notice I was standing next to him?”

Roxy shrugged innocently.
“Sorry? I was kind of distracted.”

Skyl
ar was about to burst at the seams from excitement. “Did you talk to him?”

“Nope
. Never got the chance, and of course I saw you.” At least she thought she glimpsed Skylar, but it was impossible to keep her eyes off that gorgeous man for long.

“Let me guess, Jordan was being his normal jackass-self last
night?” Skylar shuddered, her face twisting in disgust.

“Worse. Bastard wanted me to join in the festivities with his groupies.
Needless to say, I declined.”

“Tell me you’re going to find a reason to ditch his ass today. Please
,” Skylar begged.

Roxy shoved her hands in her pocket
s with a smirk. “He was drunk enough when we got back from the show he probably won’t wake up until late this afternoon. In the unlikely event he does show up, he’ll finally have a taste of his own medicine.”

“Good. You really need to do something about him.”

She’d been trying, but Mikey and Doug kept pleading with her to give him another chance. Roxy had already learned Jordan was never going to change. He’d proven that more times than she cared to count.

Roxy reached for her money and Skylar shook her head.
“Nope, it’s my treat.” Exactly what Skylar said every day.

That didn
’t stop Roxy. “Too bad.” She stuffed the money in her tip jar instead. “I’ll be in my favorite seat, writing as usual.” Roxy turned toward the table.

She sat down in the back corner of the caf
é and made herself comfortable. After a long drink of coffee, Roxy put earbuds in and cranked her music. Then she pulled her laptop out and opened up the current work in progress.

* * * *

Unable to sleep, Trevor went for a walk in an attempt to clear his mind. He had no particular direction in mind as he let instinct guide his feet.

Her smell, that cherry blossom scent
, caught Trevor’s attention. He turned in the direction she’d taken not ten minutes before.

She was close, oh so close. He forced himself to slow down to a steady pace as he tr
acked her. She hadn’t gone far. Her trail led him a few blocks down to a vibrant cafe. His heart pounded in his chest as he watched Roxana slump into a booth.

Instead of the rocker chick persona, she
looked lovely in a soft charcoal sweater, fresh face, and skinny jeans with biker boots. She looked irritated, and he hoped like hell he hadn’t somehow pissed her off. He wanted to bring her sassy smirk back, the one she gave him before her ex wrecked it.

His
phone buzzed, and he read a text from Joey.

Best tell her soon. Otherwise it w
ill happen before you know it.

Trevor didn
’t bother responding. Instead, he stepped inside. Roxana had made herself at home, popping her earbuds in and sitting back with her laptop. She seemed to lose herself in her words like he always did.

Giving her a few moments, he stepped up
to the counter. He recognized the spunky little redhead from the night before. She spent the night cheering Roxana on. Her hair was pulled into a messy knot, and her eye-liner was very dark.

Big
gun-metal gray eyes rounded in surprise as she lifted her face from her book. “Here to see Roxy?”

The corners of his mouth quirked up.
“I find it hard to resist Miss Nights.”

Her eyes closed as she shivered.
“Just open your mouth and speak—I guarantee she’ll be yours. She loves a sexy Irish accent.”

He chuckled.
“I take it you know her well?”

“I do. She’s my nearest and dearest friend.
I’ll tell you a secret. She needs a good man. Are you a good man? One who will treat her right? If not, I may not look like much, but I will cause you bodily harm if you make one wrong move.”

“I only have her best interests at heart.”

“Aww, you’ve won my vote. What can I get you? Or is it only Roxy you want?”

Oh
, he did want her, need even. Taking a slow breath, he gave the barista a smile and ordered, “Americano, black.”

Trevor
looked over at Roxana. Her bottom lip was caught between her teeth, her raven hair swept behind her ears. She glared at her laptop, her fingers flying furiously over the keyboard. He had to wonder what she was doing.

“Oh, don’t worry.
All you have to do is walk over there and smile at her. She’ll forget why she’s pissed off this morning.”

He looked back to
the girl as she placed his drink in front of him. “I’m Trevor.” He held out his hand.

“Skylar
.” She answered as they shook. “This is my treat. All I ask is that you go make her day.” She winked.

Trevor dipped his head and walked to
ward Roxana.

* * * *

There was a vibration in Roxy’s back pocket, and she ground her teeth together. She was tempted to shut it off, but that required her to dig it out of her pocket. The only person she wanted to talk to this early was Skylar when she brought more coffee over.

There was a tap to her
knee and she reflexively looked up with narrowed eyes. Her breath caught in her throat, directly below her lodged heart.

Mr. Voice stood there, smiling down at her.
Her words dried up.

She sat there frozen a second before sitting forward, setting her laptop down, and then yanking her earbuds out.
“Hi… uh sorry… um… you’re in Lunar Storm.” Her eyes briefly closed. She wanted to smack herself for how stupid she must have sounded.

He nodded,
his smile widening. “Don’t apologize. I’m sorry for the intrusion, but yes, I’m Trevor Malone.” His accent colored his words, but it was faded, as if he had been in the States for years. He had a strong jaw, full mouth, and sharp cheekbones. Roxy lost herself in his gaze.

When she finally got her wits together she smiled back at him.
“Roxy, but you already know that.” She reached forward, shaking his hand. He had a strong, smooth grip, and his hands were intoxicatingly warm. “Sorry about my drummer. Jordan’s an ass.”

“No worries. Can I join you?” he asked, his
eyes sliding to the velvet lined bench across from her.

“Yes, of course.” Roxy shoved her laptop into her backpack and put her earbuds away as he took a seat. The morning was already looking up.
“I was just doing what I always do,” she muttered sheepishly.

“I’m curious what had you beating your poor keyboard with such passion
.” His dark brow arched.

Roxy snorted.
“Writing. You could say I get wrapped up in my characters’ heads.”

“Characters?”

She licked her lips, wishing she could take that back, but it was too late now. “Yeah. I’m an author.”

He leaned forward, his hands on the table.
“You’re
that
Roxana Nights?”

Her breath caught and she felt the flush creep up her face.
“Uh, yeah. You know about me?”

“Sorcha said you might be her. She got me hooked on your books.”

Shit. Of course he has a girlfriend.

Trevor added,
“Her man, Joey, won’t read them, but I like a little of everything. I’m intrigued by your take on the magical world.”

Relief washed over her
, but she was still a little flustered that he may have read some of her stuff. She couldn’t help wondering if he was thinking of some of her racier scenes. Unsure if she should be embarrassed or pleased, she admitted, “I uh… I don’t know what to say.”

“I
love the way you bring your characters to life.”

“Thanks.”
Please tell me he’s not some creepy stalker fan.

He shook his head, a blush creeping onto his own face.
“Sorry, I saw you sitting down and I couldn’t resist a chance to talk to you without interruption. Last night I felt a spark between us. I was hoping we could get to know each other?”

There was no denying that spark.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Your band is amazing.”

“Nothing compared to you,” he replied.

She bit her lip and took a deep breath. “So, we love each other’s passions. Can I suggest we skip past all of the ego-stroking and get right to getting to know one another as real people? I mean, I’m obviously not my characters, and I’m completely different when I’m on stage. I’m guessing the same goes for you.” Because as hot as Mr. Voice was in his leather pants and fitted shirt, she had a strong desire to curl up in his lap now that he was dressed down in a warm sweater and jeans. He was even more inviting with his hair falling into his eyes.

“Sounds good to me,” he answered, staring
deep into her eyes.

“How long have you been in Seattle?”

“Not long at all.” His brow arched, and his dimple deepened. “In fact, I was hoping maybe you could show me around.”

“Really? You need a tour guide?” For him, she could play the part. Spending the day with him, listening to his sexy accent while
acquainted sounded like a much better way to spend her day than avoiding Jordan so she could write.

He shrugged, his dimples showing as he smiled.
“Only if you don’t mind walking around the city with me.”

“I’m up for it. What did you have in mind?”

“I keep hearing about Pick Place Market. Maybe we can start there?”

She didn
’t buy it, but he wore such an innocent expression she played along. Besides, the vibrant energy and eclectic collection of shops made it her favorite tourist trap. When suffering from writer’s block she would spend the day people watching. She could always count on finding inspiration among the diverse crowd.

“
Pike
Place Market,” she corrected with a laugh. “It’s a bit of a walk. I suggest breakfast first if you haven’t eaten yet.”

“I can always eat.”

“Give me a minute then. I should tell Skylar I’m heading out.”

He nodded and she slipped out of the booth. She took a look at her phone and saw the three missed calls from Jordan before she shut it off and slid it into her backpack.

Skylar had her vanilla breve ready by the time she was up at the counter.

Roxy glanced back at Trevor and grinned.
“So, I’ll be leaving with Mr. Voice.”

“You swear you’ll ditch Jordan today?” Skylar prompted.

“Consider it done. He’s called three times, which is a record since it’s not even noon yet.”

“Don’t let Jordan talk you out of Trevor.”

“I won’t. I plan to enjoy myself.”

“Good, now go do something crazy.”

Roxy rolled her eyes, and slipped another five into Skylar’s tip jar, ignoring her glare. She walked back to the table and grabbed her bag. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”